Future Shock
by Vaylyn
Summary: AU, time travel, happens before the movie.   What if Metroman's retirement meant certain doom for Earth? How far would Megamind go to stop it and would he still get the girl?


I own none of the characters from this fic.

There, now that that's outta the way... I just couldn't get this movie outta my head after I saw it. And it spawned many plot bunnies, but I think this one's the best. Enjoy, and please tell me what you think with the little "Review" doohickey.

MMMMMMMMM

You know those days that start out looking like they're going to be okay, but just get progressively worse? This was one of them. First, she had to cover news about a break-in at an orphanage – who did something like that? Seriously. Then the villain known as Megamind showed up, taking her hostage AGAIN in yet another ploy to lure Metroman to his death. At the moment, she was tied to a chair and listening to his monologue. Again. There was something a little endearing about how he never gave up, but _really_. She just wanted to go home and take a bath. She hoped Metroman would show up soon. Crocodiles swam lazily far below her seat. Roxanne absently wondered if they were really that well fed, that if she were to actually be dropped into the pool, if they'd eat her or not. They kinda did look a little chubby... Perhaps she'd ask. If she could get a word in edgewise, that is.

The alien known as Megamind paced restlessly back and forth in front of a giant screen. He was a hyper figure, gesturing quickly, energetic in response to his long time rival, yet another alien the world knew as Metroman.

"I have ONCE AGAIN captured the reporter, Roxanne Ritchi! Come, if you dare, Metroman and rescue her, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!". A large cannister-like gun emerged from a panel on the floor at the press of one of Megamind's slender fingers. It was pointed a the reporter's head, but rather than panic, she sighed. He'd done the same thing last month. And a few months before that. It just wasn't that scary anymore.

"Megamind! If you harm ONE hair on her head, you'll be sorry!" The hero was a muscular man, a figure Roxanne knew well. He gestured to the camera vigorously, an imposing figure in his white suit.

"Oh! I'm so scared! What will you do? Send me back to jail?" The villain cringed melodramatically. "Oh no! How will I ever get out... Again!" He laughed.

"I'm sure we'll think of something when that time comes. Now it's time to kick your butt!" Then he was gone, a faint vapour trail fading in his wake. Megamind stopped suddenly, one important idea coming to the forefront.

"He didn't wait to find out where I am..." The answer dawned on him and his eyes widened.

"Minion!" The fish with the robotic body stirred form where he stood, a few meters to the side of Roxanne and out of sight of the cameras.

"Yes boss?"

"We've moved lairs since the last evil scheme, haven't we..?" The blue alien's bravado deflated. Minion took up a thinking pose, one finger under it's chin.

"The last evil scheme was the stale food bomb, right? And then you were in jail for a bit and..." He paused to look bashfully at Megamind. "I forgot."

The villain advanced quickly on his friend, arms high and anger apparent.

"Minion! How could you! Metroman is on his way here RIGHT NOW! Your actions could have jeopardied my plan!" His panicked expression faded and he gave no sign he acknowledged his mis-speak. Instead, an evil smirk graced his features and the villain chuckled. "Unless it was all part of my ingenious plan to lure Metroman into a false sense of security!" He laughed again, louder this time. Just as he did so, there came a thundering crash, and the wall directly behind the super villain exploded.

When the dust settled, Roxanne exclaimed,

"Metroman!". Waving a hand in front of his face to ward the dust and debris off, the superhero replied,

"Roxanne! Are you alright?" Before she could respond, Megamind's voice rolled out from the shadows.

"Oh, she's fine. It's you I'd worry about – Metro-mon." The mispronunciation of his name made the hero grimace as he peered off into the darkness of the lair.

"And why's that?"

"Because... That wasn't just any wall you came through. It was a wall coated in a chemical of my own device! Now watch, as your strength betrays you!" Just as the hero was about to respond, Roxanne noted rather distantly, that everything was slowing down. What was happening? Metroman's next words slowed as though someone had put a television show into slow motion. His actions, normally so swift, were like molasses. Then everything stopped.

"What...?" Her head turned back and forth, eyes trying to spot what was causing this strange and unnerving occurrence. Some strange new invention of Megamind, perhaps? Probably, though the genius wasn't present in this still moment either, and nor could he be heard, and Roxanne didn't think he'd be capable of something like this without bragging. So what was going on?

As though right on cue, a bright light appeared from directly above her, blinding her. Roxanne dearly wished her hands were free – something to block the light wouldn't have been unwelcome. She felt her chair come loose from it's moorings and then she was weightless, floating up perhaps? Or dropping down? She screamed, panic bubbling up from where it normally stayed in any encounter with Megamind. Her restraints bruised and chafed, biting into her arms as she struggled against them. Abruptly, the free-falling sensations stopped and the light dropped to a much more manageable level.

Roxanne fell silent and blinked, trying to clear the blindness that held. She relaxed a little in the chair, curiosity overcoming panic.

"Roxanne..." It was a whisper, barely audible over a faint hum the reporter could hear from all around her. She blinked fearfully around.

"Wh – Who's there! Show yourself!"

There was a low chuckle, sounding oh so familiar, and yet so different.

"Oh, my dear Roxanne, as feisty as ever..." From the shadows along the edge of the room she now found herself in, which was completely different from Megamind's original lair where she'd first been taken, a black clad hand emerged first, leading a similarly slim, black clad figure.

"Megamind! What have you done! What sort of dastardly plan is this?" The reporter lunged again against her restraints, angry that she'd been made to panic by the normally predictable alien. She stopped abruptly as Megamind came into full view.

This couldn't be the Megamind she knew... The posture was off – wrong. His shoulders were stooped as though he stood under some unbearable weight. Gone was the grandiose cape and ridiculous shoulder pads. He instead, wore a humble, tight fitting black suit, devoid of much, if any decoration. His boots and gloves were plain and utilitarian. But it was his face and right hand which seemed utterly new. Over his right eye was a black eye patch, a long, thin scar running visibly out from under and over where his eye should have been. His right hand was gone, replaced by a black metallic prosthetic. As Roxanne looked, the appendage twitched, inadvertently displaying dexterity the reporter didn't think it could possess.

"Who! Wha-?" She gaped, almost literally a fish out of water.

The new Megamind's lips twitched in a semblance of a smirk.

"Listen to me carefully, Roxanne... I don't have much time. _**YOU**_ don't have much time. He's coming for Earth. He'll destroy all that you love, and he'll start with it's heroes." Almost tiredly, the blue alien – now that she looked, she noticed Megamind was pale, a much lighter shade of blue than he'd previously been – walked closer. Signs of exhaustion lined his eyes, but somehow he seemed... Glad. To see her? Roxanne was confused. What was going on?

"Nova is coming. I know he'll be following me. But I had one last chance to come back to the past. To warn you, Metroman and my self so that you might have a better shot at beating him than I did when he first got here." Roxanne gaped again, her brain unable to comprehend just how quickly the proverbial tides had shifted to what was going on now. Megamind seemed to understand this. He paused for a second, his left, real hand slowly coming down to rest on her right. It trembled.

"I know you don't understand. But you will. So please -" he pleaded, the only time she'd ever heard him beg – it had to be important. His eyes were wide, so earnest. "- please, tell what I'm telling you now to Metroman. He MUST NOT be allowed to retire!" What? Retire? Metroman would never retire, not so long as a single threat remained to Metro City. "Nova will come. And soon. It'll start with a warning – he always did underestimate his opponents. Tell him he MUST join forces with Megamind. And give this -" he held a small, box-shaped device up in his prosthetic hand, "to my past self. It'll give him all the information he needs. Tell him... Code: Don't press the red button!" A wry grin spread across the alien's features. It faded a moment later when he realized Roxanne couldn't take the proffered gift.

"Oh, let me get that." A tug with the new hand later, and her hands were free. Another, and she was free of the chair. Still stunned, she remained sitting, the cube now sitting in her hands. Megamind remained standing above her, leaning quite close.

"He's probably right on my tail. I'll do what I can to slow him down, but the rest is up to you; to Metroman and my self." The alien looked anxiously up at a single control panel glowing faintly from somewhere behind her. "Time's up. Tell -" he faltered, looking down and back up so quickly, she nearly missed the tear in his remaining eye. "Tell Minion to watch his heroics – they might get him killed one day. Make SURE Metroman heeds my words, Roxy... And..." He took a step closer, arms hesitantly reaching towards her.

"There's one more thing. For good luck." He grinned briefly and then scooped her up, his lips coming down to cover her own in one brief, but oh so intense kiss. Roxanne was stunned again into paralysis, the event so shocking she almost missed it. Then she was sitting in the chair again and Megamind was striding purposefully towards the console. The lone light in the room intensified, blinding her again. This time, she was able to raise her arms to shield her eyes. Over the steadily growing noise as whatever she was in prepared to take off, she heard the opening notes of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck". The last thing she saw of the strange new Megamind was his trademark mischievous smirk, the one that said he had something devious planned. Whatever it was, she would not be present for it, as her chair was returning to it's first location – the original Megamind's lair.

The weightless feeling again ended and the light abruptly cut off. For one more second (if a lack of time can be measured as such), everything around her was frozen. Metroman had Megamind up against the console he'd been at earlier, one hand secured in the front of his suit, the other held menacingly back in a fist, ready knock the blue alien into next Tuesday, doubtlessly because Roxanne was now missing from the tableau. Metroman looked angry and Megamind looked panicked. But not for much longer.

In a sudden whirl of sound and the movement of air, Roxanne was back in the present. Stumbling off her perch as it fell over due to a lack of support, she moved towards the resident hero and villain as they both stopped upon her sudden reappearance. All three not privy to her time-snatching gaped at her and exclaimed at the same time,

"Roxanne! Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?"

"Ms Ritchi, you're alright!"

"Roxanne! Where did you go!"

Metroman blinked at Minion, who looked sheepishly at Megamind. In a far more orderly manner than speaking over each other, Metroman spoke again.

"You're not hurt are you? What did this villain do to you?" Outraged that he'd mistreat his guest so badly, Megamind fired back,

"I did NOTHING to Miss Ritchi, Metromon. I was busy fighting YOU, if you recall!"

"She VANISHED, and the only evil-doer I see here is you, Megamind! So explain to me what DID happen if it wasn't you!"

"I - " Megamind faltered, eyes darting about as he tried to think of something to appease the angry superhero. Roxanne took the time to jump in before the situation could get any uglier.

"Guys! I - " She didn't know what to say. How to tell two of the strangest men on the planet that a supposed future version of one of them had time travelled (was that even possible?) into the past to warn those in the past of upcoming catastrophe? (And had Megamind actually _kissed_ her?) On wobbly legs, she strode over to the pair and handed the box over to the blue alien. "Here. I'm supposed to give this to you. Code: Do not press the red button." His right hand snaked over to grab the item and Roxanne experienced mild relief it was normal, not mechanical... Not lost.

"Metroman, drop him, please. We... Need to talk" she pleaded with the hero. Confused, he did drop the blue alien, who slumped backwards over his console looking at the box curiously. Metroman turned to face her, concern evident on his face.

"What is it, Roxy? What's wrong?" She took a deep breath and looked up into Metroman's eyes.

"Something happened while I was gone... Someone told me to warn you. To tell you that something horrible will happen soon. Another alien will come who will try to hurt us. He wasn't very specific... And I don't even know what to think of it, but you can't retire yet!" Metroman's face registered shock.

When it all came down to it, he had been thinking of retiring... But distantly. It wasn't something he could fully consider yet. Metro City always needed a hand with Megamind on the loose. And what was this about another alien? Granted, he didn't know a lot about the chances of life on other planets, but he always kinda took for granted that he and Megamind were the only aliens who might ever find their way to Earth. Roxanne took another breath and continued,

"He said you'll have to team up with Megamind. This is something neither of you will be able to beat by your selves."

"What?" The hero took a step back, aghast. "Team up with _him_?" He turned his head to look at Megamind while gesturing at him. Sure, the little guy was capable. Not nearly so capable as he himself was, but he was a villain! How could the blue alien conceivably work for the greater good But... Come to think of it, he'd never really hurt anyone in any of schemes. Sure, there was property damage, but never a loss of life and the only injuries incurred were usually suffered by the villain himself. Hmm.. Metroman narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin in thought.

As the superhero was considering Megamind, the smaller alien was considering the item he'd been gifted with by Roxanne. To all appearances, it looked like something he himself might engineer. Complete with a tiny red button that just screamed "Press me!". So he did.

Electric blue light flashed brightly from the cube, enveloping Megamind briefly. In an instant, the alien collapsed and slid off the console to the floor.

"Boss!" Minion cried as he ran to the prone figure he was sworn to take care of. Carefully, despite his bulk he scooped up Megamind, intent on bringing him to the more medically oriented part of the lab. Hopefully it wasn't in bad shape after the fight.

"Wait." Metroman turned and laid a hand on the fish's arm. Minion stopped quickly but placed the bulk of his body towards the hero to protect his charge.

"What do you want?" The curiously sentient fish's mouth was turned down in a scowl, his eyes serious and grave like they never were, even when Megamind was being carted off to jail. Metroman paused. What **was** he doing? On one hand, the villain had to go to jail. On the other, something very strange had just occurred. What if this was one of his more brilliant and convoluted schemes? What if it wasn't? The hero made a snap decision.

"We're going to the hospital."

Meanwhile...

Megamind sat up and rubbed his head, groaning.

"Okay... That's the last time I push the red button. But they're just so... so.. tempting."

"But it worked. It got you here, didn't it?" Megamind jumped, unaware he was in the presence of anyone else. Especially someone who sounded like... him? The alien opened his eyes slowly and squinted, the pain in his head making anything else impossible. When he was finally able to focus on the black blur on the other side of the lab, he was treated to the sight of himself sitting in a chair. But the other him looked different somehow... The alien squinted again and pulled himself up off the floor, studying the other.

Clad in black from head to toe the new Megamind had lost most of his metal spikes in favour of more solid, defensive looking shoulder pads, a breastplate and greaves. While they weren't bulky, they were noticeable. Etched into the black were decorative cobalt blue lines. The cloak he wore was a little short, but he (the original Megamind) could see how it might facilitate movement a little better. Less tangling led to less downtime. The collar was tall but opaque, easily seen through. His left eye... Was missing? A patch covered a long scar. It looked... Dignified, Megamind decided. And maybe even debonaire. The other green eye observed his past (present? Oh, this time travel stuff could get confusing) self lightly, a smirk forming on his lips as he guessed what his other was thinking. The last change Megamind could see was his other's right hand. In it's place was a slim robotic prosthetic. Other Megamind raised the appendage and gave a quick wave.

Giving himself a shake, Present Megamind straightened and asked,

"So my wonderfully wonderful self, to what do I owe this honor? If you are indeed my most excellent self..." He frowned and crossed his arms, his perusal turning from admiration to criticism. Other Megamind continued to smirk and pulled one ankle up to rest on his knee, getting comfortable as he prepared to lay one heck of a mind-screw on his less worldly self.

"While this was prepared by one who was most assuredly a future version of your most excellent self, I am sadly not. Your mind is currently in a construct of my design, because I need to tell you something important." Present Megamind froze, the implication of the word "talk" putting him on edge. The Talk was never good. Thinking about The Talk about the birds and bees he was given by his peers in prison was enough to make him want to run and hide.

"What is it? Did they forget the wasps and butterflies too? Because if they did, I'm not listening!" The villain then covered his ears and turned his back, singing, "Lalalalalalla -"

Contruct Megamind pulled his palm to his face and waited for his past self to get back to the task at hand. After a minute or two of not being assaulted with more strange details, Megamind took his fingers out of his ears and turned around curiously. Construct Megamind smiled again and resumed talking.

"Good. Now as you know, during your last duel with Metroman, Roxanne Ritchi vanished. What you don't know is that the maker of this construct – Future You -" he pointed at Megamind, "stopped after a lengthy flight to abduct her so that she might warn you and Metroman of impending doooooom!" The construct's fingers waggled in the air for a moment.

"I couldn't risk telling Metroman as I did with Roxy; I couldn't be certain of how he'd react. His super strength and speed were variables I couldn't plan around. But you, my fine friend of the past, you were a certainty. So I constructed this so that I'd be able to impress upon you the gravity of the situation you will face. I am, in fact, a semi-sentient hologram. Ask me anything you wish. I'll answer if I can, but some knowledge cannot be shared. It would jeopardize the fate of the... Well, the future."

Present Megamind gaped and moved hesitantly forward, eagerly touching everything he could get his hands on.

"How did I do this? My genius is **ASTOUNDING**! And time travel! I hadn't run all the calculations yet, but only because I came to the early -"

"And mistaken" Construct Megamind interjected,

"- conclusion that it probably wouldn't work." Present Megamind admired his future self once more, thoroughly impressed.

"It can work, but it takes a lot of calculation. The problem with going back in time is that the further you wish to go, the more difficult the calculations become. Exponentially so. Any error in these calculations have the potential to kill the traveller. Thus the further you go, the more prone to error your calculations are, the more likely you'll die in the process.

I might have risked going further back, but I didn't have enough time to attempt to figure it out. It may have been too risky anyway. Getting here was very difficult."

Present Megamind thought about the implications for a second before nodding.

"That _does _make sense. But what are you doing now? Err, my future self that is? I mean, if we change this... Then what happens to you – err future me?"

Construct Megamind grimaced.

"I'm not entirely certain what will happen since I've already changed this much. Metroman will be on his guard, and when we're done here, you'll be ready as well. I suspect I've created an alternate universe for you. Or myself. Or quite possibly I'll cease to exist. But whatever happens, it can't be as bad as my, well, your future was.

As for my real self, I've headed "backwards" through the time stream in an attempt to hold the threat back. I'm certain he'll have followed me to the past. He has the technology. And he can do it better, faster... Stronger." Present Megamind blinked. Wasn't that a quote from a television show? One of the ones they always showed on reruns at the prison? Anyway...

"So why have you come back? What happens? What must I stop?"

"Not just you. You'll need Metroman's help."

"_**WHAT!**_ But... the villain can't team up with the hero! It just doesn't work that way!" Construct Megamind put his foot back down on the floor and rose up from his chair.

"It can and you must! There is an evil coming, something far greater than you or Metroman have ever faced. You can't stop it by yourself. Metroman cannot stop it by himself. But maybe, maybe just by working together you'll be able to stop him. Now that you know." Construct Megamind brushed past Present Megamind and the younger alien was suddenly struck by how tired his future self looked. Worn, run down and... Desperate? Maybe.. Maybe he could work with his arch nemesis. Maybe he'd give it a shot.

Construct turned as he neared a blank wall and asked,

"Do you remember how our planet died?"

"Of course – how could I forget being tossed off my home world as it sank into a black hole?" The younger alien spoke glibly, but it was obvious it still bothered him a little.

"Beings like the one you will face were behind the formation of that black hole. My planet, Metroman's planet... They were eliminated. And now one of them comes for Earth. Not to see it eliminated like our's, but to turn it into a giant strip mine." Construct sneered. "Apparently they don't consider humans worthy of extermination." The sneer disappeared and Construct preened. "Of course, no one else is quite so awesome as us." Present Megamind preened as well, straightening his leather suit and adjusting his posture.

"Of course not!" Finished preening, Construct gestured to the space in front of him. A projection appeared in 3D space. What it depicted was strange and slightly frightening to Present Megamind, even if he'd never admit it.

The being was a roughly humanoid figure, possibly about seven feet in height. Rather than having a fully humanoid face, there were folds and wrinkles about the being's cheeks, beady eyes and neck. Small tentacles emerged from behind pointed ears to drop down behind a high collar. Rather than hands, more tentacles appeared from long sleeves. It's feet seemed normal enough, though the boots could have disguised that. Dressed in a brown overcoat of sorts, the being cut an intimidating figure.

Present Megamind bent down to observe the rotating image closer.

"This is it, this thing?"

Construct closed his eye as though not wanting to see anymore.

"Yes. That is Nova. A year after Metroman retired -" Present Megamind boggled – his arch nemesis _**retired?**_ "- a ship came to hover over Metrocity. Inquisitive and concerned, you ventured up to see if the residents were friend or foe... You were unprepared. Nova killed Minion, who died in your place. You barely got away. It took you a few days to recover, to go find Metroman. And even then, in the face of this new danger he didn't agree to help you until Roxanne Ritchi was caught in a blast caused by Nova in downtown Metro City. She survived, but many others didn't.

Metroman's speed and strength were no match for Nova. The both of you just barely limped away from that one. The next time you fought, Nova was prepared. You were distracted by Roxy... Metroman gave it his all, but it just wasn't enough... " Construct trailed off, his hands held empty. His shoulders slumped and the image sighed.

"You never gave up. You fought him time and again. Even after he took the last thing you loved. And when he did, you vowed to change it. So you made a ship and you came back, to warn... Well, yourself. To prepare." Fire appeared in Contruct's eyes.

"You MUST NOT lose this time!" Present Megamind gaped, his mind exploring the implications laid out before him.

"Does he have any weaknesses? Vulnerabilities?" Contruct Megamind waved a hand and another image appeared in the place of the alien hologram. It consisted of Megamind and half a dozen large robotic constructions standing over Nova, the alien laying sprawled in the rubble of a construction site. Copper colored pipes lay in a jumble below the menace.

"This battle was by far the only one where you managed to score a hit on him. It was your best chance to take him out for good, but Nova knew his weakness, and had already compensated for it." Construct Megamind grinned suddenly. "Copper, my fantastic friend. Copper!" The grin looked like the result of a private joke Present Megamind wasn't in on. Unimpressed, he asked,

"Copper, really?" Construct Megamind burst out laughing this time.

"Really. Copper. But don't underestimate him. He's got nanobots that "eat" any copper they come across. You may be able to get the jump on him the first time around, but he adapts quickly. He's strong, and he's brutally intelligent."

"Oh. Great. Just what I needed. A fight with an alien with my brain and Metroman's body."

"Exactly." Present Megamind sighed and covered his face with his palm.

"Alright, alright. I'll team up with Metroman. And I'll beat this "Nova". He'll never know what hit him." Construct Megamind smiled sadly.

"I hope so, past self. I really do hope so. And now that you know everything you need to, my programming is finished. By the way... This may hurt a little." Present Megamind looked back up just in time to see the construct's outstretched finger contact his forehead. Everything went back.


End file.
